Friday, June 12, 2015

There was a bit of a brouhaha on twitter and various other social media sites yesterday as rumors swirled that Dodgers' longtime organist Nancy Bea Hefley was being pushed out of the organization. As you can imagine, the Dodger faithful were less than pleased. She has seen her role during games reduced significantly the past several years, and it appeared obvious that her dismissal was coming soon rather than later. Well, she dispelled all of those rumors when she responded on twitter:

To all my faithful fans. I WILL be coming back next year. Thank you for your support. The Dodgers have stated I have a job as long as i want

Unfortunately, the above is far from the entire story. Bill Plaschke at the LA Times shared a piece last night that provides more detail: " Frustrated Dodgers' organist signals last notes, until team's overture." Check out the story here.

"I am retiring at the end of this season," Hefley told The Times. "It's finally gotten to me."

Even her richest show tune wouldn't be proper accompaniment for what happened next.

The Facebook exchange began spreading. Twitter talk began buzzing. Hints of outrage began forming. Dodgers officials who had not been previously informed of Hefley's plans took notice.

Three hours after the original post appeared, one of those officials called Hefley and, soon thereafter, the woman who had been reduced to playing five minutes a day was suddenly un-retired after being promised a lifetime deal.

I get the desire for more modern tunes during games, but feel that the significantly diminished role given to her is both unwarranted and shortsighted. There is room for what she does, and you have to find a way to bring her back to the game. Her style is a reflection of the history of the franchise in Los Angeles. To turn your back on that part of our collective past is like turning away family. And ultimately, the Dodgers are family... And, Nancy Bea Hefley is family.

“The first time you present information to a player, it’s brand new,
totally foreign,” (Gabe) Kapler said. “The second time you present it to a
player, it feels a little less awkward, a little uncomfortable. The
third, fourth, fifth, sixth time they hear about wOBA and it being more
indicative of positive performance than batting average, then it’s not
so foreign and awkward anymore, and it feels like a conversation they’re
ready to have.

“I believe it’s a commitment you make over time
to help players understand how they’re being evaluated. You can’t quit
halfway, because then everything goes out the window.”

"I think he can definitely be a home run and gap-to-gap guy," Rancho
Cucamonga coach Bill Haselman said. "For his age, to hit [12] home runs
in this league, that's a pretty awesome thing to do. They're pretty
legit home runs, too."

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“There’s nothing like wearing a Dodger jersey. There’s nothing like it in sports. I don’t care that I’ve never been anywhere else. I don’t care. There’s nothing like wearing a Dodger jersey.” -- A.J. Ellis